Dusting Off My Sneakers to Run to the End of the World
Four years…what can happen in four years? So much that it’s difficult to remember.
In addition to flying, I'd written a book and had begun a speaking career. And I was pursuing my goal of running a marathon on every continent.
In 2019, I eagerly signed up to run 26.2 miles in Antarctica to raise awareness and funds for adult literacy. My fifth continent. I was excited and scared to embark on this journey. Prepared to hop on a Russian research vessel in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world known as "the end of the world", and travel several days through the infamous Drake Passage to Antarctica, the world's most remote continent. The training plan looked daunting and being on a smaller ship sharing a room with three strangers was going to be a challenge.
Then life happened and everything changed. It was a “challenging” time.
The last four years have been incredible, but at the same time I have dropped the balls I was juggling.
Spring 2020.
Races were cancelled.
Speaking engagements were cancelled.
My book launch was canceled.
And then came the lockdown.
The world changed with COVID and I found myself in an uncomfortable, isolated place. Without the Antarctica Marathon, my motivation to continue training waned.
A few years later, the races resumed, mandates were lifted, and my spirit soared. I'd let a lot of balls drop in 2020 and it was time to start scooping them up.
An unexpected race slot for the Antarctica Marathon became available for March 2023 and I knew this was an incredible opportunity, a second chance. It has become a beacon of light at the end of the dark tunnel we’ve all traveled. In order to grow in life, we need something to aim for that challenges and excites us. It scares us a bit, maybe even a lot, but it's something that awakens our souls, making us capable of much more than we imagined.
The Antarctica Marathon is my something, and I’m taking you on the journey with me -- from the beginning of my training to the return of the ship at the dock in Argentina. You'll be with me.
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I run these marathons, not only for myself, but for Runucate, my nonprofit. Through Runucate, I raise funds and awareness for adult literacy in economically impoverished areas and neighborhoods.
This is the third marathon I'm running to support Seeds of Literacy in Cleveland, Ohio -- where adult functional illiteracy rates are 66%, and some neighborhoods as high as 90%.
